>> "bbc world news" is presented by kcet, los angeles. funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now "bbc world news." sfoo >> this is world news today on bbc i'm david e. six u.n. staff are killed in kabul. second round of elections and the taliban sets up its campaign to disrupt or even to thought swrote. another major bomb attack in pakistan more than 18 dead as hillary clinton visits the

pakistan republic. >> pakistan is in the midst of an ongoing struggle amongst tenacious and extremist groups who kill inept people and terrorize communities. >> child snatcher, around 200 youngsters rescued from the hands of human traffickers and this is it. michael jackson's rehearsal put to film to show how good that final concert tour might have been. >> it's 7:00 a.m. in washington, 11:00 a.m. here in london. half past 3:00 in the afternoon in kabul and 4:00 p.m. in pa shaaway in pakistan and we'll be life in afghanistan to tell you about another attack in which 80 people were killed.

first we'll focus on the taliban's campaign to disrupt the second round of elections in afghanistan. six u.n. members have been killed after gunmen attacked them in their guest house. one was an american. the vote itself is scheduled for november 7, but this one attack targeted directly at u.n. staff is arguably the most damaging blow yet to international efforts to ensure the poll does go ahead. >> daybreak in kabul and the all-too familiar sound of another explosion can be heard in the capital but this time accompanied by heavy gunfire. the taliban insurgents are thought to have stormed the building and taken hostages. a fierce gun battle ensued and 20 u.n. staff were registered to be there at the guest house but it's not sure how many were

there. >> we understand there are dead bodies and injured in the house. i don't know anything more. >> hours later more blasts were heard in the city center as kabul's hotel was hit by a volley of rockets. guests including diplomats and workers were taken to the basement for protection. a taliban spokesman has reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack on the guest house and it's feared they may have been planing a major atack in the runoff to the elections. >> we are planning to tend to stop such attackers from entering into the interpart of this circle. but with just over a week to go it's feared further attacks could follow. russell, bbc news. >> as part of the new approach

the obama administration has indicated it will offer to pay taliban fighters who reannounce the insurgence as i. it comes in an defense bill. such payments have already been widely used by u.s. commanders in iraq. this is the first time that strategy is going to be used in afghanistan. we'll have more on obama's possible options for strategy. in a few minutes i'll be joined by michael griffin, he has extensive knowledge of the taliban. a huge explosion has ripped through market area in northwest pakistan. at least 80 people have been killed. more injured. in south waziristan where in the past hour hillary clinton is visiting islamabad said that the u.s. will stand

shoulder-to-shoulder with pakistan in the fight against the brutal extremist groups. caroline has more. >> a prisony marketplace the latest target. many shops were destroyed trapping people under rubble. 34 women and children among the dead. horror in a city that's already been hit many times before but this was the deadliest attack so far this year. doctors appeal to the public to give blo. it is a violent reminder of the scale of the extremist threat facing pakistan. and it came as the u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton arrived in islamabad, her first swrizz to this country at a critical time. she says she wants to turn a new page in what she calls a scarred relationship. her message, the pakistan and the u.s. must work together against violent extremists that

threaten them both. >> i know that in recent weeks pakistan has endured a barrage of attacks. a i would like to convey my sympathy and that of the american people to the people of pakistan. but i want you to know that this fight is not pakistan's alone. >> so far this month 200 people had already been killed in militant attacks before this devastating bombs. it's another sign pakistan is under and possible payback for the government against the taliban in pakistan. hillary clinton calls them challenges we face together. >> let's go to islamabad now. our correspondent mark is there. in a mont littered with some pretty appalling attacks. this seems to be the worst of

the lot so far. >> yes. this is the worst for many months. in pakistan, as you say, this has been a particularly awful month, really, particularly in the main city in the main city, in islamabad but pashawa the main city in the northwest closest to the afghan border and on the front line of the western conflict between the pakistan i didn't state and the militants. >> so much of this is put down to the 1995 south waziristan. any indication as to how long that offensive is likely."z& to on for? >> well, the army is confident about its operation, i thin that's the first thing that needs to be said. they said they've killed a couple hundred taliban fighters and captureed the home village of the taliban leader. and they say the operation

should be over in six to eight weeks which is when the snows fall in this part of the world when major prayings will be made impossible by the winter. and of course not every pakistani shares that optimistic. they say the chances are the taliban will flee when they think that they can't win anymore and they'll come back to fight another day. >> any suggestion that pakistanis are starting to feel this is not a fight worth waging given the number of attacks and presumably they are going to continue? >> yes. certainly there's criticism of the government. certainly there are people that say the government and the police the security forces should be doing more to protect the cities to stop further attacks. but by and large the army and the government are confident that most pakistanis still do support this over in south waziristan.

at the moment, they say most people back them. >> ok. mark, for now, thank you indeed. germany's new parliament the formally re-elected as chancellor. the vote took place before the swearing in of a new government. she was able to form a -- after last month's elections. a leading international expert of aids says the epidemic in russia is now out of control and appeals to the government to do more for the drug users. it's believed there are more than 1 million people inalfected in russia. britain has released that -- a list including bucking ham palace and the stock exchange

and the madame tussaud's wax museum as place that is could be bombed. >> and a tale of two banks. conflicting stories. >> yes. euro's biggest bank with subsidiaries all over the place has announce ad net profit of just over $10 billion. a slight drop but frankly pretty good given the current climate. and although the market is particularly tough in it's home, spain. it's also picked up other stukeses. over substitutions. -- other institutions. and a brittish plan to break up the northern rock. it was the collapse of northern rock that was the trigger in britain. of the recession. and during the spate of bank

bailouts right across the e.u. we'll be taking a close look at action across india that's threatening to disrupt life and other international fuse. >> owen, thank you. you're watching world news today, the main story the attack in kabul coming at a time when president obama is focusing on a new strategy for afghanistan. reports coming from washington say mr. obama and his security cabinet is looking at an approach that would stop short of a full attack on the taliban but still trying to protect centers. michael griff season the author of the taliban movement in afghanistan. he joins us now. can i ask you first of all on the attack of today, if i could, michael. we have six u.n. staff killed.

do you think that does jepper dies the second round of polling taking place? >> i think that's still up in the air. i think what it does indicate is the taliban, at least part of it are now prepared to target the large population of western experts and aid workers living if kabul and elsewhere in afghanistan. that certainly is linked to the second round of the elections. but whether it will take place across the country is not sure. it's the first time in a long time that any form of the taliban has attempted to kill western aid workers in afghanistan. >> right. i mean, we have to wait until the election is over it seems before we know exactly what obama's strategy is going to be for american troops, but what do you make of the developments? we've got the vice president joe gueydan who clearly doesn't

want many more troops and mccrystal who does. >> i think bide season playing devil's advocate and mccrystal is going to have a more persuasive influence wi regards to the increase. that is he will be in charge of the next phase of the campaign. the next will be to consolidate u.s. force ins two ways, one by bringing them back to the population centers, the six main regional capitals, and closing down a number of the operating bases which have been attacked by the taliban board erds with a great loss of life on the american and afghan army side. so by increasing the forces on the ground to protect those centers. it could be as many ads 40,000

soldiers takeover next year or so which would bring american forces to about 100,000. >> briefly, if i could, given your knowledgef the taliban, how are they going to view that? there are those that see that as a row back but -- >> i think you're absolutely right and i think they smell blood to some extent, this is the first stage of an exit strategy. i think stanley mccrystal is looking at the possibility of filling the void and vacuums on the fringes of the areas either under afghan state control or american control with afghan national army squadrons which will have to be trained up very, very rapidly. >> ok, michael griffin. thank you indeed for your sues. you're watchling world news today. because coming up shortly "this is it" it's the film of the dead pop star's last ccert

rehearsal that's been premiered around the world around andre agassi shocks the tennis world and admits he took drugs while playing on the professional tour. a day-long siege of one of india's most prestigious train services ended, the capital express was en route to delly on tuesday when it was captured by armed militants. the the latest in violence in the state of west bankor which sthers on in a paul. >> a pair of slowingens is almost all that remains of the drama on the delly express. it began when hundreds of possess nts and others blocked to tracks waveing a red flag. >> we saw a lot of people who threw stones at the train.

they hd sticks and iron bars. we couldn't understand what was happening. for five hours they held hostage the train, its crew and several hundred passengers, demanding the release from prison their leader and an end to a major security operation. that wasn't something the authorities would the consider. >> we're just going to -- >> instead the authorities sent in paramilitary police and the train driver was wounded but he d everyone else was freed. the twrain jacking was the latest move in an ongoing battle. the rebels have declared an ongoing shutdown in the district of mid i a paul in the protest of police -- the maoist insurgence as i bezpwan demanding justice for india's poor people and now has spread and this year alone claimed 600

lives. the mowists have been declared a terrorist group by the government. but as the train highjacking shows they remain a significant force, if anything, becoming stronger. bbc news. >> this is "world news today" from bbc world news i'm david e. these are the main headlines. six foreign u.n. staff are killed in a taliban attack on a guest house in the capital of kabul aimed at disrupting the presidential runoff. a bomb blast has ripped through a crowded market pashawa killing at least 80 people. more than 2,000 children have been rescued by police in china during a six month campaign of human trafficking. they set up a webpage with children of 60 children who

were kidnapped in the hopes of reuniting them with their families. it's thought to 20,000 children are trafficed in china every year and criminal gangs are making big money by trafficking children. >> hundreds, nearly thousands of children trafficed in this country every single year. often it's the children of poor farmers or factory workers that are taken away that are sold in other parts of china, usually to childless couples. sometimes into labor. china's a patriarchy and boy babies are more valuable than girl babies, boy babies selling for as much as $6,000 in some cases where as girls go for about $500 so the authorities say they were going to do more and set up a database for d.n.a. to try to unite children with parents and police are making more of an effort to

find these children in the last month they found 2,008 children. some have been returned to their families and many have not so the authorities have launch ad website. 60 on there some babies and some adults. they are hoping by placeing the photographs those babies can be reunited with a parent. >> we're going to get more on the u.n. staff killed in their guest house in kabul. joining us is u.n. spokesman adrian edwards. thank you for talking to us on what must be a deeply shocking time for you and your colleagues. >> indeed. it's an extremely distressing moment for us. we all woke to the sound of gunfire and explosions in the center of the city this morning. at this point it's a rather confusing situation where details are yet to be verified but we believe we have six

international u.n. staff killed and nine wounded as -- some of those seriously. in all the time that we've been here in afghanistan, more than 15 years, we've rarely had an incident, in factal i don't think there has been an incident of this severity. it's serious. >> i have to ask whether you feel the security measures for protecting your staff are adequate now. >> well, we do review our security measures regularly. in light of the prevailing security situation, and we will inevitably have to look very closely indeed to what happened today and whether appropriate measures can be taken to protect all our staff. as you faux we have runoff elections just a few days away. these are extremely difficult circumstances and clearly we'll have to look very closely at our security measures now.

>> will that include looking at your presence in the country in the buildup of these elections because the taliban made it clear this is going to be a very violent offensive tile. >> the attack will not detour the u.n. from their work to build a better future for all afghans and the reconstruction. there is no discussion at the moment of in any way deviating from our work. we're here to help afghanistan. we've been part of this community. and most of the afghan nationals have been part of this community for many years and we intend to do our utmost to help it. >> adrian edwards, thank you very much indeed. "this is it" based on footage of michael jackson's last concert rehearsal has been streamed. @ studied premieres have been taking place in london, berlin, los angeles, of course.

the pop singer died in june just before he was due to pasm series of concerts here in the u.k. our correspondent was on the red carpet. >> this was build as the last performance of the ultimate showman and although big-name stars were rare, the red carpet were filled with those who loved him the most and knew him the best. >> what do you think michael would have thought of this? >> he would have been swrr, very proud because of the fact tt he made music for the world , and to see the world here, the appreciation for him, the music and the message. >> i eve known michael jackson since i was born so, i was a close family friend, the most amazing performer in the world and so this is a very special night tonight honoring him and showing what a legend he is. >> this is the moment. this is it. >> "this is it" was created from more than 100 hours of

footage that michael jackson rehearsed for his comeback tour. the life and work of a mega astar. >> ♪ never felt so in love before ♪ >> this is some of what the fans saw. it was clear the producers had always plan ad behind-the-scenes glimpse. it's the portrait of a ooh-year-old artist still bankible and in control. >> i love that you got see the raw footage of michael practicing his performances and see what he wanted his fans to experience. that's priceless footage. >> he's still got it. 50 years old and dances like he was 207 and sang like an angel. like an angle. >> this is his triumph. mind-blowing. >> the red carpet didn't last long but with plans for a d.v.d. and legal battles over his will and possible charges over his death, this is far

from it. bbc news, los angeles. >> quite some shock news. >> it was a startling start to the day. yes. we're talking about andre agassi who was the head of tennis but that world has been shaken by the revelation the 39-year-old took drugs during his career. he admits he took crystal meth and failed a drug test but applied to the tennis authorities about the test claiming he unwittingly took the drug in a spiked drink. his world ranking slumped to 141 before he revised his career and returned to number one. he claims the new autobiography. they will release a statement later today. the bbc's tennis correspondent claims it raises spickses about whether there were other past cases. >> but it's sure to have huge

repurr cushions not just for agassi's reputation and lately a great charity fundraiser as well. that reputation is sure to be tarnished by this but also for the sport as well because agassi admits he lied to try to clear his name and the authorities believed him. effectively brushing the case under the carpet. so that has to only add to the suspicions i fear that how many more of these cases may there have been over the years? >> well in the washington capitals they have pulled off a terrific come from behind victory to beat the philadelphia flyers after a scoreless period mike richard son for a power play goal. washington with another chance to make it and it was ruled emery was pushed takeover line after making this and bruised but drove fuming in the fans

and kimmo timonen blasts in the back of the neck but then it was all in washington as they say a stunningoal by alexander ovechkin and nickulas back strum. the final score, 4-2, washington. to remind you baseball's fall classic starts on wednesday with game one in the world series a blockbuster between the phillies and yankees. >> if you want more on any of those stories, bbc.coming/news. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundion of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. the newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank.

>> union bank has put its financial strength to work for a wide range of companies from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> i'm julia stiles. >> i'm kevin bacon. >> i'm kim cattrall. >> hi, i'm ken burns. >> i'm lili taylor. >> i'm henry louis gates, jr., and public broadcasting is my source for news about the world. >> for intelligent conversation. >> for election coverage you can count on. >> for conversations beyond the sound bites. >> a commitment to journalism. >> for deciding who to vote for. >> i'm kerry washington, and public broadcasting is my source for intelligent connections to my community. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.